Palak Sabut Masoor Dal: Because Sometimes, We Overdo Tomatoes

A while ago, I found myself sitting in a room with an Ayurvedic doctor who was holding my pulse and nodding very seriously. You can imagine what that tends to do to you. You are sitting there, panicking about hearing something supremely horrid and life altering. It was not even a test coz I was ill - it was just something I thought I'd do, just to see how I was doing. More preventive than anything else.

Nonetheless, the verdict was not as scary as I had expected it to be. I tended towards an acidic profile. Which meant I was to avoid eating sour foods, including citrus and tamarind, fermented foods. But I was allowed yogurt. I was okay with that. I do like sambar and I still eat that once a month and follow it up with a huge bowl of sweetened curd so my body can handle it. I never liked rasam much so I do not miss it. I do love citrus desserts but I don't much fancy eating dessert so I survived. The dosa and idli bit was a bit of a challenge.

But imagine my chagrin when I learnt that it'd help me even more if I avoided or limited my use of tomatoes.
I was traumatised. But after a few days of frustration and inexplicable bursts of craving for everything with sun dried tomatoes, I decided to scout for recipes that are not dependent on tomatoes. Thankfully, traditional Bong and Tamil cuisine are essentially tomato free - with a few exceptions. But I still do run into roadblocks.

This recipe was a result of one such day - I had used tomatoes for breakfast and I wanted to steer clear of it for lunch and dinner. So I came up with this. Make it. I love it. It does have a pretty strong hint of garlic so you may want to not carry this to lunch unless you keep some mouthwash in your cabinet. But make it. I love it and it's been ages since I came up with something completely my own!

Name:  Palak Sabut Masoor Dal
Prep Time: 30 minutes to soak the dal, another 15 to pressure cook it
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Recipe Source: Me
Serves: 2

You need:1/2 cup of pressure cooked sabut masoor dal + salt
1/2 bunch of chopped, fresh spinach
A pat of ghee
1/2 tsp of hing
Salt

Make a paste of this, and no roasting:1 tbsp whole coriander seeds
1 tsp jeera seeds
1 inch stick of ginger
6-7 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup dessicated coconut
4-5 red chillies

Method:- This is super simple. Heat some ghee, toss in the hing, add the spinach. Allow the spinach to release its juices. Add the spice paste and fry it about till it looks a bit dry.

- Now add the masoor dal, add some water and allow it to cook on low heat, covered with a lid, for about 7-8 minutes.
- You can top with with a few drops of ghee, serve it with rice or roti, whatever suits you.